Gravity of the Night
by YaoiSongstress07
Summary: Akira/Atsuki! Akira suffers from horrendous nightmares. Predators seem to be closing in on him, and he struggles with his budding feelings for Atsuki! Will his knight save him? Oneshot!


Welcome to Gravity of the Night, an Akira/Atsuki oneshot! Before the adventure begins, you'll have to heed these warnings. **_Please refrain from submitting purely technical feedback, as I am aware of the characters and their original tendenicies. I do not wish to hear a lecture from Lux Pain scholars, unless you submit important points in a benevolent matter._**

**_In addition to that, please note that this project contains yaoi. If you're not an Atsuki/Akira fan, or even a fan of yaoi, PLEASE DO NOT READ THIS._**

Disclaimer: How easy is this to figure out? If I owned any of the Lux Pain components, the girls would be setting all of the hotties in a yaoi love fest!

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Fear followed him every moment of his life.

It followed every breathe he made, every choice he made, and every step he took. In the middle of the happiest conversations, he heard his own heartbeat. As he walked down the street, blessed by the day's warm sunshine, he heard the rhythm of his own breathing. The sunshine was crushed by the day's true venom, all of which came from the depths of his own mind.

Black, poisonous clouds infiltrated what should have been peaceful. The voices of merriment collided with promises of death, drawing him into a catastrophic vortex. Peaceful streets were threats on his life, as walking down a single one allowed predators to view him. Whenever he drew breath, he felt as if he had to breathe around thorns. The thorns were there, all right, piercing his mortal flesh. Ripping, tearing apart the shell that held him together.

The days were difficult to endure, but the nights were insufferable. As many others dove into a land of peace, he dove into a world of fear. Cold, black, consuming fear. Fear overwhelmed every limb, every dream, every bit of happiness he had ever known. Arrows ran through his bloodstream as the nights went on, dragging him through an unspeakable Hell.

The others. The others were out there, living their lives. They knew nothing of his fear, or even of his anguish. In their world, everything was all right. Nami was certainly with Mika, picking up tips on how to become a journalist. Rui was alongside her new boyfriend, Ryo was tormenting racks of books...everyone was outside, living, enjoying the Christmas season. He was at home, where he should have been safe. Instead of security, though, he found the cessation of life.

His body was moist, damp from sweat. Without even realizing it, he clamped a hand down on his wet forehead. Another plunge into a torture chamber had ebbed away, leaving him with the mentality of small prey. Heart pounding, soul racing, he realized it was still morning. The day had not gone by, he had to get out, the world was caving in-

His heart lunged into his throat. Someone was knocking-no, pounding on his door. It must've been Atsuki. It had to be Atsuki. Atsuki had to come and rescue him. It couldn't be anyone else but Atsuki, unless death had come to his doorstep.

No. That wasn't it. Atsuki had come to rescue him. Atsuki was there to protect him. Atsuki, Atsuki, Atsuki-

The bedroom. He had to get out of the bedroom. Hot, stuffy, small-everything was too small. Had to get out of there.

The door. The door was the only thing separating him from Atsuki. Separating him from freedom, from relief, from joy-

"Akira!"

Atsuki's arms. They were warm, so incredibly warm. So warm, so thick and strong.

"You're here. You're here. Thank God you're here."

The silver-haired knight bundled him into his arms. He was so small, no bigger than a feather. And Atsuki was strong, strong enough to keep him afloat. He could breathe now. He didn't have to fear life anymore. Life has there, inside of his house, holding him-

Atsuki said something. He couldn't make out the words, but they were soft and comforting. Warm and soothing. They must've been something close to 'let's go outside', because the Saoji gently escorted him onto the doorstep. Two pairs of feet soon made contact with a delicate, light blanket of white fluff.

His voice was a rapid, shaky stream. "You can't be here," he whimpered, hands gripping the Saoji's arms. If his grip tightened even just a little, he would have drawn blood. "What about your shift? Don't you-"

Whenever Atsuki heard about his workplace, he winced. It was an instant reaction, an allergic reaction to a world he despised. He might have picked up a few 'odd jobs' to pile on Christmas cash, but that particular job could shove itself in the ass, for all he cared. The Sushidei clothing store was Hell on Earth, judging from the way Atsuki described it. "I couldn't stop thinking about you," the Saoji said, his voice firm but warm. "Couldn't even sleep because of you."

Eyes became wet. Atsuki had spent the night thinking of him, worrying about him, wondering about him. Atsuki cared. Atsuki-

The Sushidei's prized cashier said something else. Before he knew it, the two of them were taking a walk, placing their footsteps in the snow-strewn world. Fear was still with him, chilling him to the bone, but it wasn't as feverish as before. It was simmering, subsiding, ebbing away, all because of Atsuki-

"Come out of the night. Don't focus on the night right now. Just focus on me."

Focus. All he had to do was focus. Focus on Atsuki. If he concentrated on Atsuki, his nightmares would vanish. He wouldn't have to cry anymore. He wouldn't have to fear walking down the street anymore. He could live, laugh, smile-

"Thanks for coming by, Atsuki. Glad you're here."

'You're all right. You're with me now', silvery eyes whispered, stroking him. A smile grew on the silver knight's face, blessing the world with a rare treasure.

"Why don't we hit up the Triple Cross? I'll treat you to breakfast."

"Sure. Okay."

Atsuki probably wanted to wait. He probably wanted to wait for calm to settle in. Fear had him shaken up, after all, and Atsuki was Atsuki. Atsuki was always so calm, so caring, so kind and considerate. The Saoji wouldn't have cared if they spent the entire morning in silence, but...something had to change. He couldn't spend a second longer in obscure silence, holding so many secrets and visions. He had to share everything with his knight. Besides, what if Atsuki was called away for a shift? The silver-haired beauty rarely had a moment to himself, unless he forced people to give him some peace and quiet. The manager of Sushidei had him under lock-and-key, practically forcing him to work in a slave camp (as Atsuki put it). In the Saoji's eyes, people were using him just for sexual fantasies. All because of his 'curse', Sushidei worked him to the bone-and so did everyone else.

Akira had to speak. He had to open up, or else he'd burst. Atsuki could be called away, and he'd lose the perfect opportunity to plea for help. There was so much he had to tell, so much pain-

He stopped in his tracks. "They're getting worse," he said, clamping his hands over his heart. Atsuki looked back at him, soft eyes ablaze with concern.

"What are you talking about? Your dreams?"

"Yeah. I don't know what's going on, but they're...they're getting pretty bad."

Hands fell onto the nightmare victim's shoulders. "There's a bunch of guys, dressed in these weird suits..." Akira went on, trembling. He peered straight into the Saoji's eyes, begging for more comfort. "Can't seem 'em too well, but they're there. I don't know...don't know what's going on, but...they're after me."

Atsuki's eyes adopted the aura of a pensive scholar. He was thinking, searching for information. The look on his face was akin to the look on Ryo's face, whenever the Unami was lost inside of a book. "You'll have to let me in," the Saoji said urgently, keeping the level of his voice tender. He lifted two fingers to Akira's forehead, eyes firm yet loving.

He knew. He knew all about Atsuki and his talents. Atsuki revealed everything to him after the Silent incidents. His knight could read minds, emotions-

"I'll have to take a look inside, Aki. And I promise you it won't hurt."

Akira said nothing, but his face spoke louder than a thousand words. The Mido's cheeks adopted a faint shade of pink, akin to a set of cherry blossoms. Two fingers made gentle contact with his forehead, and lightning struck his veins. Images played as if they had been requested on a tv set, faster than the speed of light.

Images. There were images of men, dressed in robes. Images of torches, brands, knives, odd symbols. The sounds of distant laughter rattled him to the core. They were laughing at him, stabbing him, playing with him-

A flash of white light bashed his eyes. A gasp tore itself from his chest, marking his return to the present. No more than a few centimeters away from him, Atsuki was firm. Firm yet kind, sweet and benevolent. "We're taking a detour," the Saoji said, taking him by the hand. "There's one stop we'll make before breakfast."

Sushidei's newest cashier didn't want to waste a second. The two of them started down their path in a flash, with Atsuki squeezing the Mido's hand. "Where are we going?" Akira asked, drowning in a maddening combination of fear and excitement.

"I'm taking you to the station. I'll report everything I caught from you, and it'll go from there."

"Atsuki! Atsuki, hold on! Wait a minute!"

There was laughter, bright and brisk. Atsuki brought his heart out of black pain, and even enabled him to laugh. His knight didn't want to waste anytime in taking care of his nightmares, speeding towards the police department. He was lucky, so lucky to have such a pillar in his life-

"We've got all the time in the world! Slow down!"

The Saoji's tone caused Akira to blush, and blush violently. "You're wrong, Aki," he said, using a name no one else cared to use. "I've got to make sure you'll be all right. Nothing's going to happen to you on my watch."

"Atsuki..."

The knight drew him into an embrace. The Mido's heart stopped, as it had done so many times before, but not out of fear. "You'll be all right," a voice cooed, while hands caressed his back. "I'll take care of you. No one's going to hurt you while I'm around."

"At...suki..."

Hands cupped his face. His heart regained its rhythm, but it was too fast to measure. Atsuki's face became closer, their noses brushed against each other-

"I'll protect you. I'll watch over you, even at the cost of my life."

The Saoji's name vanished on Akira's lips, replaced by a soft whimper. A set of lips closed in on a trembling mouth, exuding the warmth of an immortal sun. Two bodies melted into each other, and over each other, as sunshine would melt over a horizon. Arms gripped bodies, never wanting the morning to end.

Atsuki broke their first kiss, bearing a smile as he pulled away. He returned his attention to the road ahead, determined to pay a visit to the police station. Akira's hand melted into his, and...

The Mido couldn't stop smiling.

_I don't know if this is the scariest thing that's ever happened to me, or the greatest thing that's ever happened to me!_

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This was composed to the Tokyo Underground soundtrack.

What did you think? Before you answer that question, dearies, please heed these words. Please refrain from submitting harsh, technical feedback, or anti-yaoi feedback. I would greatly appreciate it!


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